Adam Blythe backs Vingegaard to level Tour de France rivalry with Pogacar: “I think they forgot last year, and when Jonas was injured”
CyclingWednesday, 07 May 2025 at 09:01
Grand Tour season is nearly upon us. In just four days, the
2025 Giro d’Italia will roll out on May 9th, kicking off the summer of elite
stage racing that will lead us into July and the sport’s biggest spectacle, the
Tour de France.
This year’s Tour, which begins on July 5th, is already
shaping up to be another thrilling showdown between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas
Vingegaard. The pair have dominated the race in recent years, claiming every
edition since 2020 between them. Pogacar won in 2020 and 2021, while Vingegaard
hit back with dominant displays in 2022 and 2023. Last year, it was Pogacar who
stormed to victory, taking yellow with a commanding performance that left no
doubt about his supremacy.
Still, not everyone is convinced Pogacar will have it all
his own way in 2025.
Former rider and TNT Sports pundit Adam Blythe has weighed
in ahead of the Tour, tipping Jonas Vingegaard to return to the top and claim
his third yellow jersey.
"If you go back two years, Jonas gained 2.5 minutes
(1.38 minutes) on him in one time trial," Blythe recalled, though slightly
off in the numbers. "I think that is forgotten."
"And on a mountain stage he even took six minutes off
him," he added. In 2023, Vingegaard’s victory margin over Pogacar was
nearly seven and a half minutes, a staggering gap. The following year, Pogacar
flipped the script with a dominant ride of his own, winning the 2024 Tour by
more than six minutes.
However, Blythe suggested that margin may be misleading,
given the Dane’s disrupted build-up.
"I think they forgot last year, and when Jonas was
injured," he said, referencing Vingegaard’s crash in the Basque Country
earlier that spring.
There’s no denying that when Vingegaard is at his best, he
has a unique ability to expose even Pogacar’s limits, something the Slovenian
has yet to fully reciprocate. While Pogacar beat Vingegaard decisively on
several climbs in 2024, Blythe sees a difference in how those victories played
out.
Pogacar’s wins came with Vingegaard simply unable to
respond, while in 2022 and 2023, it was the Dane who forced a total collapse.
On the Col du Granon in 2022, Pogacar lost 2:51. A year later, he cracked
spectacularly on the Col de la Loze, conceding nearly six minutes.
"I don't think they underestimate him, but if you look
at what Jonas did last year... He won that stage after only being on the bike
for six weeks in the run-up to the Tour de France," Blythe pointed out,
referring to Vingegaard’s stage win on stage 11.
"He still managed to beat the best Tadej we had seen so
far. He has a much better preparation than last year. If I were UAE Team
Emirates – XRG, I would be worried about him. When Jonas is in top form, Tadej
has never beaten him."
There’s no doubt that Blythe may just have a point, but 2025’s
form book so far would suggest that Pogacar is the man to beat. So far this
year, Pogacar has won the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as
Strade Bianche, and picked up podiums at Milano-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix. So,
alongside Mathieu van der Poel, the world champion was definitely the star of
the spring.
Vingegaard, on the other hand, has had a quiet spring. Yes
he won the Volta ao Algarve, albeit not in very impressive fashion, but he did
have to abandon Paris-Nice due to a crash. Still, it is true that Vingegaard
always saves his best for July, and if anyone can beat Pogacar, it will most
likely be the Dane.
claps 6visitors 6
Just in
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
May 12, 11:09
0
Popular news
Latest comments
- That does seem to be an ever more common motivation for sudden performance ;-)Mistermaumau22-05-2025
- He actually said it with gloves onMistermaumau22-05-2025
- I hope so. Or was it just to show that he is still worth another good contract?Cyclingsbestfan22-05-2025
- Given the amount of money this guy earns, thinks it's collectively beneficial with respects...
leedorney22-05-2025 - what a pity... he could have easily won the stage. He stopped his attack.
maria2024202422-05-2025 - Poor decision to let Primoz come back. Should have tried to put time into him.
Front24222-05-2025 - You're so wrong ! Froome needs to go away!frieders322-05-2025
- Shows a lot of class for such a young guyCrashjames22-05-2025
- Think how strong the team could be without Froome consuming all that money with nil to show for it. Sad. Selfish on his part tbhCrashjames22-05-2025
- Tom Dumoulin said out loud what many people were already thinking.
santiagobenites21-05-2025
"I think they forgot last year, and when Jonas was injured," and I think you forgot 2023 L-B-L, when Tadej was injured and had to improvise a training without bike. Tadej only could riding a "normal" bike again only 2 weeks before the Tour. That TT he couldn't knowing well at all.
I'd win so much money off Blythe on this one!
Should be a good one! It's been since 2022 since we have seen peak Pogi vs peak Vingo. 2023 Pogi had injuries and a suboptimal preparation. 2024 Vingo had even worse injuries and a poor runup to the Tour. UAE team has gotten stronger since 2022, while Visma maybe less strong.
The funny thing about all of this is that Pogi can(that doesn't mean he definitely will) win the TdF while it's only one of many goals. Jonas is fully focused on the TdF. Yes, he does other races but they're solely in preparation for the TdF. Jonas is great, but much of the reason he has a fighters chance is that Pogi isn't a rider that's fully focused on stage races.
Jonas is afraid of crashing. That's not easy to shake. I think that fear has only gotten worse over the years.
He descended very well at the TdF last year after the first couple stages with technical descents.
Jonas is a very solid descender. Remember him waiting for Pog when Pog crashed on a descent in 2022
Jonas had also had a speed wobble on that same descent. They have both improved their descending skills since then, and in 2024 took scary risks on downhills.
It remains a team sport, and either teams or injuries have determined the outcomes since 2022. In '22, UAE lost many team members due to covid, earlier than Jumbo Visma did, and that left Pogacar unprotected. In '23, Pogacar was injured at Liege, and that affected his training. In '24, Vingegaard was injured, Kuss and van Aert were a shadow of their '22 selves, and Roglic was gone from the team. So the question is, can Yates, Almeida, Novak, and the rest protect Pogacar, and will Kuss and the rest show up as they need to? Sure, it's the last climb that pits the two superstars against each other, and Pogacar (as we've seen with van der Poel) doesn't always win when he's got a challenger there. This year, if Vingegaard's concussion hasn't affected things too much, I think it will come down to the teams they bring.
For Pogi's first win against Jonas, he had a very subpar team relative to Jumbo. I don't think Jonas would have stood a chance if he had Pogi's team that year.
I don't know, maybe it's true when Blythe says "When Jonas is in top form, Tadej has never beaten him", but I think he should watch his mouth a bit.
From what I've been seeing and reading Jonas is on great form. I expect a great Tour again this year. These guys are made to race against each other.
Vingo is not injured, it is just not had a good preparation going for the Tour. Same as well Pogi in 2023.
Tadej wasn’t in top form either in 2023